New Wells College admissions official hopes to make applications easier for students

Peter Chen / The Post-StandardMichael Woody, of Geneva, is an associate director of admissions at Wells College, in Aurora. Woody said he hopes to make the admissions and financial aid processes easier for new students, in part because of the difficulties he had with them when he was applying for schools.

Michael Woody, one of 14 children raised by his maternal grandparents, had no idea what lay ahead for him when he started looking at colleges.

His grandfather worked construction and his grandmother had her hands full tending to the large family’s needs at their Geneva home. His grandmother often encouraged him to get a higher education so he could have a better life, but Woody said he had no idea how to apply to colleges or for financial aid.

“I was a first-generation college student in my family. I didn’t have a clue. The whole process was very daunting,” Woody recalled last week.

Woody, now 44, eventually figured it out. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Keuka College in 1995 and a master’s degree from Roberts Wesleyan College nine years later. Today, Woody — in his new position as associate admissions director at Wells College in Aurora — is trying to make the process easier for young adults to enroll in the school and receive financial aid.

“I want to help as many people as I can, because the process for me was so difficult,” Woody said.

Admissions Director Susan Sloan said Woody, who was hired late this fall from a field of more than 75 candidates, brims with energy and brings a willingness to try new things to the position. Woody runs the day-to-day operations of the admissions office, overseeing a staff of five counselors and four support workers.

“Mike’s energy is unlimited. He is always thinking of ways to improve things in the office,” Sloan said.

Michael Woody

Position: Associate admissions director at Wells College.

Related college experience: Admissions positions at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, State University College at Geneseo and Daemen College.

Family: Wife, Tammie, who is a career counselor at State University College at Brockport; two children.

Since starting at Wells in November, Woody has worked to make family visits to the college more inviting for prospective students and provide financial aid training to his counselors.

“I want them to understand what the process is so they can be sympathetic to the costs of college,” Woody said.

Isabelle Ramos, a 2005 Wells graduate and first-year admissions counselor, said Woody is making her job easier.

“He’s taken concrete steps to make sure counselors have the tools to do their job,” Ramos said.

Woody said his top goal is to boost overall and minority enrollment at the liberal arts school. Of the 550 students at the college, about 18 percent — or roughly 100 students — are minorities, according to Sloan.

“Just diversifying the campus as a whole I think would be great. ... The college should be reflective of what the world is. It’s a diverse population,” Woody added.

Increasing enrollment also would help Wells deal with its recent financial problems. Last May, the college announced it would trim its 2010-11 budget by $1.5 million through a combination of layoffs, pay reductions and program cuts.

Growing up, Woody’s grandmother would often tell him that he should try to have fun, get an education and learn something new every day if he wanted to change his lot in life. She also encouraged him to live by the golden rule. He’s heeded her advice.

“She always said, ‘Everything comes back 360 degrees.’ If I can make someone’s life a little easier, I guess that’s what I was put on earth for,” Woody said.